India had managed to obtain a special NSG waiver in 2008 to facilitate signing of the civil nuclear agreement with America, with the help of diplomatic heavy lifting from Washington DC.

In signs of slow progress India and China sat across the table in Delhi on Tuesday to discuss India's membership bid to the Nuclear Suppliers' Group.
The arms control consultation followed directives issued by Foreign Minister Sushma Swaraj and her Chinese counterpart Wang Yi after their Delhi Dialogue on 13th August.
The talks were co-chaired by Amandeep Singh Gill, Joint Secretary for Disarmament and International Security of the Ministry of External Affairs and Ambassador Wang Qun, Director-General of Arms Control Department of the Chinese Foreign Ministry.
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A statement issued by the Ministry of External Affairs said ,"the two sides focused in particular on an issue of priority for India - membership of the Nuclear Suppliers Group (NSG)."
"The talk covered issues of mutual interest in the area of disarmament and non-proliferation.The discussions were candid, pragmatic and substantive," it added .
CHINESE CHECKERS - TWO STEP APPROACH FOR TIME BUYING?
Ambassador Wang Qun had led the Chinese delegation at the closed door plenary session of the 48 members' elite nuclear group in Seoul in June this year.
India had hoped for its membership bid to sail through, with External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj expressing optimism at a press conference close to the meeting.
But India's hopes hit the Great Wall of India wherein the official statement blamed it on 'procedural hurdles persistently raised by one country' ,while Beijing's interlocutor claimed, 'dozens of countries shared China's concerns at the meeting.'
The Chinese Foreign Ministry in its detailed statement on Tuesday said Beijing shared its principled positions and views on the question of a non-NPT states' participation in the NSG . However, in signs of engagement China has agreed to discuss issues of procedure and principle through bilateral exchanges with India as well as the multilateral level with the group.
"China supports the notion of two-step approach within the Group to address the above question, i.e., at the first stage, to explore and reach agreement on a non-discriminatory formula applicable to all the non-NPT states, and to proceed to take up country-specific membership issues at the second stage," read the Chinese statement .
A senior diplomatic source though cautioned China could use this two-step approach to simply 'drag its feet' and 'prolong the process.'
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ELEPHANT IN THE ROOM- NPT AND PAKISTAN
India had managed to obtain a special NSG waiver in 2008 to facilitate signing of the civil nuclear agreement with America, with the help of diplomatic heavy lifting from Washington DC.

But for a full fledged membership enabling decision making rights, India's not signing of the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty has been raised as a procedural hurdle and rallying point by handful of countries including Austria,New Zealand,Ireland,Norway,Switzerland and China.
Chinese foreign ministry in its statement pointed out that crux of the non-NPT nations' inclusion question is 'how to address the gap between the existing policies and practices of the non-NPT states and the existing international non-proliferation rules and norms based on the NPT as the cornerstone.
The focus on non-discriminatory process by China is seen as pushing for entry of its all weather friend Pakistan as well into the club, despite Islamabad's controversial nuclear history. India, Pakistan , Israel and South Sudan remain the only four UN member states that have not signed the NPT. The NPT has 190 signatories today and accords Nuclear Weapons' State status to only five countries.
INDIA REMAINS HOPEFUL
However, according to sources, South Korea and Argentina are specially pursuing back door diplomacy, and Delhi is still hopeful of a special plenary before the year ends to take up its specific application.
Strong support from Americans has been key to Delhi's nuclear energy demands and supply for it to fulfill its international climate change commitment.
Meanwhile, the Indian and Chinese interlocutors will now meet in China for the next round of discussions on a mutually convenient date.